Effects of prior housing on endocrine responses to differential caging in male TO-strain mice

Abstract

Two possible reasons which may account for the inconsistent reports of adrenal and gonadal functioning in individually and group-housed mice were studied. The influence of the prior housing condition on the response to differential housing was examined. Continuously grouped or isolated mice were found to have lower corticosterone levels than those paired then isolated or isolated then paired. The influence of rehousing was apparent 32 days afterwards. The results support the suggestion that changing the housing condition of mice is stressful. The possible effect on endocrine function of different numbers of dominant and subordinate mice in different sized groups was examined. The findings did not support previous work which had found a similarity between dominant and isolated mice: it seems that the conditions used in particular experiments are critical to the results. © 1979, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.